[vulch]

Hi just got back from the bmw rally in Sedalia . man was it hot the read out on the bike was 42 c full sun the bike ran great the temp gauge never went past half when moving.this was the first rally i have been to i was a little disappointed with the bmw dealers i was expecting more parts on hand .but they didnt have any .I have to say i cant believe in that temerature that guys are still wearing full gear jacket,pants,boots ,gloves .full face helmet and that just around town ..i know all about the safety factor but man they must have been hot ..

 

[lkraus]

The potential for injuries is not lessened when the temperature rises or you pass the city limit sign. Sweat dries quicker than I can heal.

 

[gerhard]

I feel more vulnerable in the city than on the highway and your equipment, especially the helmet are going to give you the greatest benefit at relatively low speed accident.

Gerhard

 

[UltraLT]

The MOA Rally Committee did a good job IMHO. Yes, it was hot, but not as hot as Bloomsburg and it cooled off at night and there was a breeze most of the time. Water was available and being passed out free, most of the vendors and activities were in Air Conditioning. The closing ceremony was less than an hour. Now, if they would only change the time of year or elevation of future rallys, all would be good. No flame cars this year. Rats.

Ultra LT

 

[JimE]

Funny...I was struck at how many people I saw riding from their hotels in shorts and sandals and no helmets. I guess there's a moratorium on accidents during a rally. I didn't get the memo, so I changed into my comfortable clothes once I parked my bike.

Getting out of the main gate every afternoon provided enough excitement to warrant all the gear one could muster. There was a sign saying you must turn right, but the main highways were to the left. So about half the people turned right as instructed, then found a parking lot to make a U-turn in. The other half ignored the sign and either turned left, or made a token right turn then immediately crossed a lane of traffic and stopped in the turn lane, then did a U from there. I watched this circus from the barbecue place across the street and marveled that there were no accidents.

I thought it would have been a prudent use of some of the fees to hire an off-duty officer to control the traffic at that gate. Or maybe charge an extra $5 per head next time and do that.

 

[will3hawks]

According to a friend of mine, the average age of a BMWMOA member is 57 (I'm 61). Not supprisingly, many of us cannot take the extreme heat like I was able when I was a 19 year old infantryman in Viet Nam. Last summer at Bloomsburg I ended up in the hospital due to the extreme heat. That night in the hospital I resolved that I would not attend any more 100 degree rallys. When I was a kid, August was the hot month while July was somewhat milder. The weather has changed and as a rule, if you are going to get cooked, it will happen in July. Given that the weather has changed, it would make sense that we pick a cooler month for the rally. I had hoped to attend Sedalia, but when I saw the temps there was NO WAY I was going to subject myself to that. I would like to attend rallys in the south and south/west, however it's not happening in July.

Regards,

Will

 

[vulch]

Yes they rally organizers did a great job it must be quite an undertaking to put a rally of that size ..I must commend the volunteers for what they do there was all ways water in the coolers water everywhere .the volunteers in the beer tent worked real hard.. They gave away some real nice bikes.I attended a seminar on the gs911 it was quite interesting never seeing one used before ..they even scanned my bike for me ..

 

[gphusky1]

There's a weekend getaway event for BMW owners out in Cedar City, UT - September 28th through the 30th. Average high temp is 72, low of 40 with humidity between 25% and 30%. No scorching temps, mainly because it's at the end of September.

What would be interesting to find out is of those attending the event in Missouri, how many were retired. If a significant amount were retired, move the rally to a cooler month in the fall.

I gave a lot of thought to riding out from San Diego to Sedalia (about an hour from my home town) but it would have been a blast furnace as soon as I dropped down into the desert. So I went the other way.

 

[UltraLT]

I had the date of the rally discussion with them last year after Bloomsburg. They say that is when the members kids are out of school, etc, etc. That is so much BS. Not many kids there and not many members still have school aged kids to worry about. Me thinks it is for other reasons not member oriented.

Ultra LT

 

[goose512]

It was hot, but having gone to school less than 100 miles from there I will say it was much hotter than normal. I personally prefer to gear up completely regardless of how far or the temp. In fact, when stopped in Fayetteville I made the mistake of actually riding two blocks from dinner to the hotel without gear and as Murphy's law would have it there was an incident. My riding buddy had just filled his tank on his GSA, stopped too quick next to me at a light and lost his balance. He came over on my side taking me out with him and his cylinder head landed right on my foot. As was said before, I've cooled off now and no longer sweating (or sunburned) but my ankle still hurts. I always wear my gear, and the one moment I didn't it bit me on a 300 yard ride. As for the logic on the time of year for the rally, I'm a younger rider than average at 35. All but one of the guys I rode with were younger than me. While I might be in the minority, I would not be able to make the rally if it were in Spring or Fall. Now if it's over 95 in Salem next year, I may retract that statement. Overall, I had a blast and thought it was well organized. You certainly couldn't complain about beer prices.

Derek
Dallas TX

 

[Bartleby]

I thought they did a good job under the circumstances. It's record heat everywhere, so given that, they managed things very well.

I camped and at night the breeze and the lows in the 70s were fine for sleeping. During the day there were plenty of seminars and vendors, all in air conditioning.

My first rally. I had fun.

Rick

 

[jeffdean]

Now if it's over 95 in Salem next year, I may retract that statement. Derek
Dallas TX

Right now, Salem looks more liveable:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...QR&textField1=44.9431&textField2=-123.034&e=1

 

[JimE]

Right now, Salem looks more liveable

We lived in the Portland area back in the early 80's. We flew up there to look for a house over the July 4 weekend; the highs were in the 50's. The next summer, my daughter was born on May 28, and the high was 101...and we had no A/C!

So you never know...but the odds are good that it will be significantly more pleasant than Sedalia was last week:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/97301

Of course, the odds are that Sedalia will be more comfortable than it was last week:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/65302

 

[EricSuz]

This was my frist MOA national rally. I had a blast. Met a lot of venders that I had talked to on the phone. Attended several seminars. Walked through the 4 vender buildings several times a day for 3 days. I never left the fairgrounds. The only weakness in the organization in my opinion was that the shuttle bus schedule and routes were inadequate.
They never got close to my campsite.

Had new shocks installed. My bike had 55,000 miles on the orginial shocks. Quite an improvement.